YORK International Partners With Tech Centers

Story by Matt Kelly
Communications and Marketing Intern

Americans like the air in their homes and offices cool in the summer and warm in the winter. When the air conditioner or heater goes on the blink, Americans like to have quick and skillful service.

To ensure quick and skillful service to Oklahomans, CareerTech recently conducted a training program in Norman for 22 heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) instructors from 14 tech centers in conjunction with YORK International, Unitary Products Group.

“This partnership with YORK is to make sure the technicians who graduate from their programs are effective in meeting the customer’s needs,” Jay Evans said. Evans is a trade and industrial program specialist at the Oklahoma Department of Career and Technology Education.

Today, with a shortage of more than 22,000 HVAC quality certified service technicians in the nation, David Negrey, director of Technical Services and Customer Satisfaction, of York International is encouraged to see the quality effort being put into the CareerTech HVACR programs.

YORK International is the largest independent supplier of heating, ventilating, air-conditioning, and refrigeration (HVAC&R) equipment in the United States and a leading competitor in the industry internationally with corporate offices in York, PA and the Unitary Products Division headquarters in Norman, OK.

With the drastic shortage of skilled technicians to provide service to their customers, York’s Unitary Products Group and Oklahoma’s CareerTech system are working together to develop technicians to serve Oklahoman’s future HVAC needs.

In addition to the training sponsorship, YORK International donated 48 pieces of commercial equipment ranging from three-ton to 10-ton units along with about 40 residential units worth more than $100,000 to technology centers statewide.

Because of YORK’s location near Norman, the company has supplied Moore Norman Technology Center with equipment for years, Negrey said. However, this is the first statewide donation of this caliber.

“YORK is providing state of the art equipment to Oklahoma technology centers to assist in certifying all of the HVAC programs at tech centers across the state,” Negrey said. “In addition to equipment, we are making available our technical training programs and assistance. ”

After students complete the Partnership for Air Conditioning, Heating and Refrigeration Accreditation (PAHRA) program at a technology center they can take the North American Technician Excellence Inc. (NATE) test, according to Evans.

“NATE validates the technician’s knowledge and the training program’s instruction in five specialty areas including air-conditioning, air distribution, heat pumps, gas heating and oil heating,” Negrey said. NATE is the HVAC Industries equivalent to an Automotive Service Excellence (ASE) certification in the automotive industry.

The NATE test consists of the Service Core test and tests in five specialty areas. Technicians must pass the service core and at least one specialty area to become certified, according to Evans.

The core test covers basic math, customer relations, and fundamentals of electricity, heat transfer and comfort. The specialty test covers system components, applied knowledge, diagnostics, troubleshooting, and service and installation topics.

“In helping with the accreditation process, the NATE national office paid for the core exam and YORK paid for the cost of specialty areas, for the instructors who attended the in-service training,” Evans said.

As for YORK’s involvement, Negrey believes this is a sound investment for the future. PAHRA accreditation validates CareerTech HVAC programs that are developing future technicians to industry standards who are able to handle the HVAC needs in the future for all customers.

“If all HVAC CareerTech programs in Oklahoma become accredited by PAHRA, Oklahoma will be the first state in the nation to exhibit a statewide effort,” Negrey said. “That is what YORK wants. We want to partner with Oklahoma technology centers to make our state a leader in the HVAC industry.”